A Long Way Back
by AceTrainerMitsy
Summary: A mysterious encounter leads the Host Club to the kingdom of Luville, where mystical creatures run rampant and chaos has taken over. The hosts find themselves smack in the middle of a crisis, and have they to restore order to the land, because apparently, they're the chosen ones. Fantasy!AU Potential Romance, rated T for language and action.


EDIT: page breaks are stupid, replaced them with periods

xXOXx

**A Long Way Back**

**Prologue**

xXOXx

"_Haruhi?"_

_Kotoko saw the pile of pink blankets shift to reveal a mess of brown hair from her five-year-old daughter. "Hi mommy," Haruhi muttered._

"_Haruhi, dear, you should be sleeping. You have school tomorrow." Kotoko turned on the lamp as Haruhi sat up, blinking from the sudden light. She sat next to her daughter on a bundle of cherry-blossom patterned sheets and tucked a strand of dark hair out of her face. "What's wrong?"_

"_I'm can't sleep," Haruhi whined._

_Kotoko chuckled, "Do you want me to tell you a bedtime story? You like stories."_

"_All your stories are the same."_

_That caught Kotoko off guard. "I'm sorry?"_

"_There's a princess and she loves someone and then happy ever after, right?" Haruhi said plainly, shrugging. "Why does that always happen?"_

_There was a brief moment in time in which neither of them said anything. Then Kotoko smiled, a genuine smile that showed her dimples and always made Haruhi want to smile too. It was one of the things she liked most about her mother anyway._

"_A lot of stories are like that," Kotoko chuckled, "but not all of them." She got up, searching for and eventually finding a small notebook and pen on her daughter's little art table. "Maybe we can write our own story?"_

.

Even after months at Ouran, Haruhi found that she could never get used the fact that yes, she is popular and respected even though she's a 'commoner' in the midst of a school full of aristocrats. Of course, the idea has its perks—she runs with the popular crows and she's generally loved by most of the people around her. But being with the host club is tiring and seriously takes its toll on her spare time. She comes to the conclusion that she should make an effort to relax a little.

On a bright Tuesday afternoon, Haruhi manages to steal an opportunity. She's lucky enough to have her afternoon classes cancelled due to an assembly, so as soon as the bell rings and the twins are thankfully distracted by a small crowd of fangirls, she dashes around the corner and down the halls.

Maybe she'll remember where the library is this time.

"Turn right at the third corner, down the stairs…who's bright idea was it to make this place into a labyrinth?" she mutters to herself as she struggles to make her way past the students. She waves to a few that yell "Haruhi!" as she passes by. "Hopefully I'll get it right this time.

Haruhi breathes a sigh of relief as the grand, open doors of Library 1 welcome her into the spacious room. The modest host greets the librarian as she passes by on her way to the bookshelves. At this time, there aren't many students in study hall since most students are making the most out of their free time and exams are over anyway, but it doesn't seem unwelcome to Haruhi. In fact, the quiet atmosphere is welcome.

Haruhi makes her way to the fantasy section. They are a little bit of a guilty pleasure to her, since they remind her of the fairytales she and her mother would create in her childhood before going to sleep. Also, Haruhi spends so much time taking in reality, so learning about magic and fairytales is a refreshing change of pace.

She rounds the corner to the fifty-seventh aisle where she plans to continue a series of books about a forbidden romance between a prince and a poor young sorceress, but she notices another girl standing in front of the shelf. Said girl isn't in the Ouran uniform, but rather a simple white tunic with blue accents and a white beret on top of short, light brown hair. She doesn't look Japanese either, and is carrying a large satchel that looks like it has something heavy inside. Confused, Haruhi walks towards her, watching her eyes slowly move in her direction.

"Hello!"

Haruhi jumps a little. "Uh, hi, miss," she whispers back. "Maybe you shouldn't be speaking so loudly in a library."

The foreigner 'hmm'ed in acknowledgement. She begins walking agonizingly slow circles around Haruhi (of course she isn't scared, not even if the girl has a full head of height over her), keeping eye contact, holding her hands behind her back, and making more weird 'hmm' noises.

"…This is a little weird," Haruhi thinks out loud. The girl stops behind her and sniffs the top of her head, causing Haruhi to cover her neck from the short puffs of breath and step back slightly. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

She shrugs.

"Do…you know me from somewhere?"

The girl moves her hand side to side in a 'kind of' fashion.

Haruhi takes a moment to figure out how this is possible, before asking, "Have you been looking for me?"

This time, the girl nods vigorously, amber eyes glistening with mirth. "We…haven't met each other 'til now. But I have been searching all over this world for you, miss!" Her voice has a strange tinge of an accent in it, Haruhi notices.

"This world…?"

"Oh no! Too much information! Umm…" The girl looks around frantically, then thrusts her hand into her bag to take out a large book. "Read! You like to read, yes?"

Haruhi can't find it in herself to react, since she has no idea what's going on or what mess she's getting into, but the girl seems either blissfully unaware or just doesn't care for her opinion. "Well, sure, but what exactly are you—oof!" The stranger casually drops the book into Haruhi's hands, making her cough from the cloud of dust that flies up. The book looks old, antique, and battered, but Haruhi can just make out the word 'Mythos' on the cover.

"Read the book and you shall understand," the girl whispers to Haruhi, leaning in closely. "It is of great importance to all!" Suddenly the girl straightens, looking around at the ceiling agitatedly. Haruhi tries to see what she's looking at but nothing's there. "I hear them calling! I must return home!" Before Haruhi can get a word in, the girl spins around, daintily skipping (almost bounding) away.

"Wait!" Haruhi calls, ignoring the 'shhhh!' of the librarian. She runs after her, maneuvering through the book shelves in an effort to catch up. The girl dashes into the nonfiction section—

And vanishes.

.

"She was tall, you say?"

Haruhi nods, sitting on a couch in the club room to try to get her head straight. She figures if she ever wants information on someone she's curious about, Kyoya can probably find some info on them in his limitless database of a laptop. So that's exactly what she does, after the last Host Club fangirl goes home and everyone stays behind to clean up and talk about the day. She grips 'Mythos' in her lap and sighs.

"So you're saying, that some weird girl in the library," Hikaru starts, sitting down on the couch to her left.

"Comes out from nowhere to give you this book and disappears into thin air," Kaoru concludes, settling on her right.

"Yes."

"That's stupid," they deadpan together. "You must be delusional."

"I'm telling the truth," Haruhi insists. "She approached me, started to walk around me awkwardly, said some weird things in a strange accent, and then she just vanished. She didn't look like she was from around here either. The librarian didn't see someone like that walk in."

"How mysterious and intriguing!" Tamaki says with a flourish and grand arm gestures. Haruhi does her best to keep her composure as the host club king sidles up next to her and leans an elbow on the back of the couch. "Such a sudden, mysterious encounter must be the work of fate!"

Thankfully the twins swat him away. Haruhi rolls her eyes. "You people are just being ridiculous. This book is proof that I did meet her and she was real."

Hunny approaches on Mori's shoulders, Usa-chan in hand. "Did you look inside, Haru-chan?"

"Not yet."

"Can I see?" Hunny reaches a hand toward the book eagerly, causing Mori to lean awkwardly to keep his cousin from falling.

"According to the school's database," Kyoya interrupts, "there doesn't seem to be a girl that matches your description in Ouran, or any of the neighboring schools for that matter. I also double-checked the book in the Ouran archives and none are entitled 'Mythos'.

"Then we should look inside!" Tamaki, Hunny, and the twins conclude. Kyoya walks over to couch, notebook in hand, to join the group. All attention is fixed on the book as Hikaru slides a hand into the pages.

"Wait, let me do it." Hikaru pulls his hand out and Haruhi breathes in anticipation as she slides a few fingers into the pages. She opens the book…

"It's blank."

Everyone exhales in frustration. "Seriously?" Kaoru exclaims, throwing up his hands.

"That doesn't make any sense if I'm supposed to understand what's going on," Haruhi mutters while flipping aimlessly through blank page after blank page.

"Perhaps another student was merely playing a practical joke on you," Kyoya added snidely. "It wouldn't be the first time."

"Wait, you missed something!" Tamaki slams his hand onto the page mid-flip. "Go back, Haruhi! I saw words!"

"Chill out, senpai." Haruhi flips to that page, where what looked like a faded poem is written in the center of the page. The hosts squint to look at the words.

Hunny breaks the silence first. "I can't read it. What does it say Haru-chan?"

.

Renge excitedly runs up the stairs to the third floor, quickly making her way towards Music Room 3. She just came up with the best ideas for future cosplay to share with the hosts—Haruhi especially, because his large, beautiful eyes would accent the cat ears perfectly! The hosts always meet for a bit after club hours, so hopefully she can make it this time to discuss the results from the host club fanpage!

The eccentric manager approaches the club room, documents and poll results in hand, but pauses as she hears Haruhi clear her throat in the room. From a crack in the door, she notices all the hosts huddled around Haruhi on the couch. She crouches and stays silent as to not interrupt him.

"_A creation of a kingdom scorned,_

_Blessed realm, tainted and faded,_

_The white queen passes twice reborn,_

_Vanished, captured, by those who hated…"_

Renge notices, as Haruhi reads from what appears to be a large book, that the page begins to glow faintly. Since the hosts don't seem to be phased, she blames it on her eyes and listens to the rest.

"_From far and distant, a chosen few,_

_Revive the fallen, or lay waste to land,_

_Faces in shadows, old and new,_

_Determine the fate, the world in hand,"_

The light intensifies, expanding in swirls around the hosts. Renge loses sight of Haruhi first, then the twins, then Tamaki—but the light is too bright and she can't look any longer, so she tears her eyes away. Energy pulses from the radiant brightness, forcing the door closed. She screams, pounding on the door and trying to force it open, but the energy was forcing the door closed. "Help! Somebody help!"

As seconds pass, the energy and glow fades from under the door. Renge is finally able to push the doors open and drops her papers to the floor. Her hands tremble and she falls to her knees helplessly.

The hosts are nowhere to be seen, and 'Mythos' tumbles to the ground.

- Prologue End-

I'm excited, aren't you? :3

So this story will be told from two points of view (well third-person…but you know): from wherever the heck the hosts are and from the real world where Renge has to deal with the aftermath. Chapters will be updated…idk in one or two weeks? I'm planning to do one chapter for either of my two active stories every week or so but the new school year has sucked up my time lately so who knows? I'll try! :)

So feel free to drop a review, constructive criticism, random comment, etc. I'm interested to know what you people think! AND SEND ME COVER PHOTOS! I WILL LOVE YOU FOREVER.


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